Does Alcohol Advertising Make Me Drink More?

“Liquid courage”, “magic in a glass”, “if I drink this I will _____ (fill in the blank) get the guy/girl, get the job, win the game, etc.” Alcohol advertising spins the use of alcohol in a positive, fun loving good time way to meet people and relates the use of alcohol to success in life. Of course alcohol advertising does not mention that alcohol is also connected to crime, abuse, and of course drunk driving accidents. However, you still may be wondering; does alcohol advertising make me drink more?

Contrary to what you’ve been told before, you solely control your conscious decision to drink. However this is not what many treatment centers around the world will tell you. Ultimately, in their eyes you are destined to be an alcoholic regardless. So, if that is the case, then what influence does advertising have on your drinking? If you were destined to become an alcoholic, then whether or not you saw an advertisement for alcohol, it was only a matter of time before you started using alcohol, because you have the gene. Right? Wrong!

Let’s start by saying that there is no such thing as an alcoholic gene and you are not diseased. The reason you drink is simple…you drink because you want to drink. You did not inherit the desire to drink. Your drinking is not associated to a genetic defect, or linked to a brain disease that requires you to drink. But rather, your alcohol use is connected to behavior that you learned to do. It is more likely that you learned to use alcohol from watching other people such as your family and friends than it is that a 30 second alcohol advertisement influenced you to use alcohol. Be that as it may, the decision to follow through and use alcohol was your decision to make. You chose to follow their example and just as you made the decision to follow the example, you can make a different decision and stop.

The truth is you can have a life that is not controlled by alcohol use and not influenced by tacky advertising commercials. Excessive alcohol use is the result of a series of choices that you make. If you learned to consume alcohol, you can learn not to consume alcohol. Right now your brain associates that happy instant pleasure it feels with alcohol use, however, you can reprogram your brain to associate the same happy feeling with something other than alcohol use such as with a productive behavior. Instead of drinking to push your problems away, tackle them head on. If this sounds like something you agree with call us today and we can help you change your life for good!